b'APRIL 20254.4 Building Construction RegulationNSW also leads the way in pushing up new homeAll this adds to the time taken to complete a new prices through building and design over-regulation.building, it adds to the risk that a project wont The legacy of some dodgy buildings from wellbe completed on-time, and it adds to the cost of over 5 years ago led to the establishment of theeach new building. NSW Building Commission and the passage of an entire swathe of new rules and regulations. TheThen, in addition, the NSW Government seems impact is still being felt as the quality developersever-eager to adopt and apply each and every and builders are left with an additional regulatorynew iteration of the Building Construction Codes burden that doesnt apply in any other state.without a regulatory impact analysis (to measure the benefits from the new regulations against the Productivity in thecosts associated with the change). home building sector isProductivity in the home building sector is catastrophically low. Indeed, its holding catastrophically low. Indeed,back our entire economy. A rolling wave of increasingly burdensome building regulations is its holding back our entireexacerbating the crisis.economy.4.5 The Competition for Construction LabourAll governments are spending big on infrastructure at present, so that has a role in creating a shortage of trades and pushing up their cost. While we welcome this investment, there is no doubt that like all markets, where there is a shortage in supply, and demand is growing, prices will rise. The shortage of skilled construction workers along with the growth in infrastructure investment is adding to the cost of housing, though this is a national phenomenon.19'